


Don’t Want to Ruin It

by Wxlves



Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Idk how to do titles but hey what’s new, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:40:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24087502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wxlves/pseuds/Wxlves
Summary: When Aedion strolled through the door to the party at half past nine, an unfamiliar guy was on his heels. Lysandra called him over, catching his attention with a wave that he returned before shouldering through the crowd towards her.Her heart definitely did not start doing acrobatics at the sight of him. Or at his stupid smile. Certainly not.[in which Aedion and Lysandra get a little drunk, Lys has a very uncomfortable sofa, and several ToG characters briefly have a cameo]
Relationships: Aedion Ashryver/Lysandra
Comments: 4
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

When Aedion strolled through the door to the party at half past nine, an unfamiliar guy was on his heels. Lysandra called him over, catching his attention with a wave that he returned before shouldering through the crowd towards her.

Her heart definitely did  _ not  _ start doing acrobatics at the sight of him. Or at his stupid smile. Certainly not.

When he reached her, his friend in tow, he wrapped her into a hug in greeting. “Lys! How are you?”

“About the same as the last time I saw you,” she laughed, “around four hours ago.”

Aedion chuckled. “Fair enough. I want you to meet my friend. Lysandra, this is Kyllian. Kyllian, Lysandra.”

Kyllian was nearly as tall as Aedion and equally well-muscled, though the similarities ended there. His skin was dark, his hair was black and cut close to his scalp, and his eyes were dark too, though they glittered with the same mischievous amusement as Aedion’s. When he held out a hand to shake, his grip was like iron.

Lysandra leaned close to speak over the loud music and he bent down slightly to hear her better. “So how do you know Aedion? Do you go here?”

He gave her an easy grin. “No, we served together. This guy—” Here, he elbowed Aedion, “—left for college as soon as he could, but I stayed on as active duty. I’m on leave for a few days so I called Aedion up.”

“And he dragged you to a frat party,” Lysandra snorted, laughing as Aedion scowled slightly.

“I wouldn’t have come if I didn’t want to. Now where’s the alcohol?”

Lysandra pointed towards the kitchen and asked, “If you’re on leave, aren’t you—” She trailed off as he slipped away, Aedion watching him go with a grin. “If he’s on leave isn’t he supposed to behave himself?” she asked, turning to Aedion with a puzzled look.

“As long as he doesn’t get in any real trouble, nobody will be the wiser. Besides, he’s technically not underage, he’s twenty-two.”

Aedion had joined the military fresh out of high school, served the minimum amount of time he needed to, then, thanks to the GI Bill, was able to go to college almost for free. Kyllian, meanwhile, was evidently in the military for the long run.

Kyllian wove his way through the party back to them, two red cups in his hands. He handed one to Aedion and kept one for himself with a regretful glance at Lysandra. “I just wasn’t sure what you like,” he apologized.

She waved him off. “It’s okay, I can get my own later.”

“So, Kyllian,” Aedion started, grinning in a way that screamed  _ trouble.  _ Lysandra and Kyllian both gave him a wary glance.

Aedion leaned in to whisper something in Kyllian’s ear, after which the older man drew back and stared at him for a long moment, unblinking. “You’re shameless,” was all he said after a lengthy silence, turning on his heel to walk away. Even as he did so, Lysandra just barely caught the small smile that crept up his face. 

“Where’s he going? What did you just tell him?” she scolded. Aedion didn’t seem phased at her sudden shift into mom-friend mode.

“I just told him that since it’s college, there’s got to be at least one guy here who’s into dudes, and he should take his chance while he can.”

Lysandra’s eyes widened. “You mean—”

“I mean that girl over there who’s eyeing him up is going to be very disappointed.”

“But is that even allowed? In the military?”

Aedion frowned slightly. “With Don’t Ask Don’t Tell you could be kicked out for being gay  _ if  _ they found out, but they couldn’t make you tell them. When they repealed that, it became legal to be openly gay and serving, although it’s still much harder to be gay. Military guys tend not to be the most accepting bunch.”

Lysandra’s brows bunched together. “That hardly seems fair. Is he open about it?”

“He’s fairly out about it,” Aedion shrugged. “It might make me a coward, but I could never.”

Lysandra’s heart dropped into her feet at his words. “You like guys?”

He shot her a wry smile in response. “Let’s just say that I’m not picky about who I like.” He looked like he wanted to say something more but stopped himself.

At least her heart was now back where it belonged in her chest. If he kept studying her like that, though, it might not stay that way.

“Come on,” she huffed, breaking away from his gaze. “Let’s go play beer pong, they’ve got a table set up out in the yard.”

“Same team or opponents?”

Lysandra pretended to consider for a moment, tilting her head in thought. “Opponents would be fun, but if we play together we can kick serious ass.”

“Together it is,” Aedion laughed with a wicked grin. “Is my dear cousin here? We could play her and Whitehorn.”

Lysandra shook her head. “Shockingly, Aelin’s missing a party. She and Rowan had plans together.”

“Missing a party?” Aedion feigned shock, a hand to his chest.

They ended up playing a dark-haired guy and his solemn-faced friend; Dorian, she was pretty sure his name was, though the other student’s name slipped Lysandra’s mind.

She and Aedion won by a narrow margin, the following few hours hazy in her memory thanks to the alcohol. She remembered, at one point, being scooped into Aedion’s arms and held bridal style as he walked around the party, carrying on conversations with people as though he wasn’t holding an entire person. How he did that drunk, she didn’t know.

Finally, at half past three when most people had either left or passed out around the house, Lysandra turned to Aedion with an imploring look. “Can we go soon?”

“You didn’t have to stay just for me, but I’m ready to go now anyways. Your place or mine?” he asked, draping an arm over her shoulder and steering her towards the door. 

A thought made its way through the fog of tiredness and shitty vodka in her brain. “Wait… should we find Kyllian before we go?”

Aedion’s lips curled upwards in a grin. “I wouldn’t worry about that.”

He held out his phone where an open text conversation revealed a message from a half hour ago.

[Don’t wait up for me. I’ll see you tomorrow.]

Covering her mouth to hide her smile, Lysandra tried not to laugh at the insinuation in the text.

“I guess that answers my question,” she said, amused. “So where’re we going now?”

“Your apartment?” Aedion suggested, “it’s a little closer than mine.”

Lysandra nodded and took Aedion’s hand as they stepped from the house; he glanced down at their joined hands with a bemused expression but didn’t pull away.

Once home, it took a moment of fumbling for Lysandra to unlock her door. Aedion opened his mouth like he was going to offer help but she cut him off before he could. “You’re just as drunk as me, Aedion. Besides, I almost got it.”

‘Almost got it’ apparently meant ten more seconds of fumbling before she could open the door. She kicked it shut behind her as Aedion collapsed on the tiny couch, arm over his eyes. He was far too large for it, with his head on one armrest, the bottom half of his legs stuck off the other end. “Jesus, Lys. Has this couch gotten harder since I was here last?”

She scowled slightly. “Considering you’re here almost every day I can’t imagine that happened in the last twenty four hours.”

At her vaguely grumpy tone he popped his head up to look at her, but she was struggling to keep the angry expression on her face. Seeing this, he held his arms out wide. “Aww. You would miss me if I actually stayed away, though. C’mere.”

“Come where? You’re already too large for that poor couch. Look at it, it’s dying.”

It was his turn to frown at her as he pushed himself into a sitting position. Lysandra moved to sit in the now-unoccupied space, laughing slightly at his disgruntled expression. They sat shoulder to shoulder, both with their feet on the coffee table—Aedion reached it easily while Lysandra had to slump down slightly.

Several minutes passed before Lysandra broke the silence that had fallen. “On a scale of one to ten, how much did you hate having to cut your hair for the army?”

When she first met Aedion in August he’d been only a few weeks out of the military, his hair still close-cropped in the severe military cut. In the months since, he’d grown it out, and it now fell to his shoulders in soft waves that made girls she knew jealous.

Aedion laughed at the question. “Besides having to actually obey authority figures, that was definitely the worst part,” he joked.

“Okay, but remember that period of time when it was half grown-out and you looked like an emo boy-band reject?”

He turned to look at Lysandra, affronted. “A  _ what?” _

“Am I wrong?” she countered with a raised brow. “Or maybe,” she mused, “one of the surfer guys from Teen Beach Movie.”

As he continued to stare at her she only grinned, gently tugging a blond strand and pulling her hand back before he could swat it away. “Don’t worry, now you look very handsome,” she cooed, batting her eyelashes in an exaggerated fashion. Aedion only rolled his eyes and reached for the TV remote, though the corners of his lips twitched upward.

They mindlessly watched a  _ Criminal Minds  _ rerun, barely following the plot, for several minutes before Aedion spoke. “I always liked the bikers better.”

“They were so much cooler,” Lysandra said, nodding in agreement. She didn’t have to ask what he meant, their conversations often stopped and started suddenly like this.

“Especially Butchy. He was hot.”

“I always thought Lele was the hottest.”

With a furrowed brow, Aedion turned to look at Lysandra. “Do you—”

“Like women?” she laughed. “No. I just know a pretty girl when I see one.”

“Lele’s definitely a lesbian.”

“Oh, totally,” Lysandra agreed. “I know it’s not my place to ask, but why didn’t you tell me you like guys? You know I wouldn’t have judged you for it, right?”

Aedion was silent for long enough that she thought she may have hit a sore spot, but after a pause and a deep breath he replied, “I guess it hasn’t been very relevant.”

Lysandra wondered what that meant but he didn’t say anything else. “Relevant?” she prompted. He was watching her again with that unreadable gaze, like there were things behind his eyes he couldn’t bring himself to say.

“I will admit I used to sleep around a lot in high school, with both girls and guys — earned myself some unsavory nicknames while I was at it. But then in the army there’s much less chance for that, and not long after arriving here I kind of had my sights set on one person. Other people, male or female, don’t garner the same attraction.”

Lysandra swallowed down the disappointment that rose in her stomach. She would be happy for Aedion, not bitter. “Are they a guy or a girl? Or...neither? Both?” A safe question, one she could ask without jealousy rearing its ugly head.

Aedion had refocused his eyes on the TV, and he answered without looking at her. “A girl.”

She nudged him with her elbow, teasing. “Do you think you’ll ask her out?”

Aedion laughed. “No, I don’t think so. We’re friends and I wouldn’t want to ruin that.”

“If you’re good enough friends, finding out one person has a crush (even if it’s not reciprocated) shouldn’t ruin anything. If she takes it the wrong way then that’s her mistake, and honestly, I don’t see the big deal. So what if someone-”

“Lysandra.” Aedion interrupted her rambling with a pointed look she couldn’t decipher.

“What?” she asked. He just raised his brows slightly as though for emphasis.

Realization hit her like a tidal wave. Blood rushed to her ears and turned them bright red, even as her eyes widened. “Oh.”

Aedion evidently misread her surprise because he slid slightly away from her down the couch, shaking his head. “Forget I mentioned anything,” he muttered, half to himself, those brilliant turquoise eyes shuttering. 

“No, Aedion, I—”

Words failing her and unsure what to say, Lysandra just reached for him. Her hands curled in the front of his shirt and she pulled him close for a kiss.

In general, kissing somebody with no warning isn’t always the best idea (Lysandra knew that better than anyone) but in the moment she couldn’t think of anything else.

Aedion went stiff for a few seconds, more surprised than anything, but before Lysandra could draw away he leaned into the kiss, his lips parting slightly. One hand went to the back of Lysandra’s neck, the other resting gently on her cheek as she tilted her head, deepening the kiss. His hands, though rough with callouses, were warm against her skin, his touch gentle.

A sudden explosion of gunfire from the TV startled them both, Lysandra pulling away quickly with wide eyes. She looked to the screen where Hotch and Prentiss were seemingly in dire straits, then back at Aedion who was watching her with wide eyes, a faint blush high on his cheeks. She couldn’t help cracking a grin at the expression on his face, he looked like he’d just been kissed for the first time.

“What?” he demanded.

“You’re blushing.”

He gave her an easy shrug. “You’re not much better, Lys. C’mon, stand up.”

He stood first and gestured for her to follow. She shot him a confused look and moved to stand, but when she did he only picked her up in one swift motion, draped over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“Hey!” Lysandra protested against being picked up, for the second time that night, but there was no real annoyance in her tone, while Aedion only laughed in response. As he strolled from the living area she grasped at a doorframe to slow his progress.

“The TV’s still on,” she huffed, “I won’t have you running up the electric bill.” She couldn’t see his face but she could imagine the expression he wore well enough. Amused, yet vaguely exasperated.

He turned around, mindful of Lysandra’s head and feet, and headed back to the living area. Turning the TV off he once again marched into her bedroom. It was only when he gently dropped her onto the bed that the situation caught up to her.

“Aedion, I don’t think I’m ready quite yet. I—”

She didn’t finish before he interrupted, looking slightly horrified. “I  _ really _ didn’t mean to make you think I wanted to have sex with you right now, I’m sorry! I just figured it was time to get some sleep, it’s almost five am.” His tone softened. “I want to take things slow with you, do it right, if- if that’s what you want too.”

Lysandra’s heart melted in her rib cage right then and there. “I do, Aedion, I really do. After all, I don’t kiss everyone like that.” She gave him a cheeky smile.

Shaking his head with a laugh he turned away. “Goodnight, Lys.” He was halfway to the door before she stopped him.

“And where the hell are you going?”

“The couch?” His tone was hesitant.

“Fuck that.” She patted the sheets next to her. “There’s plenty of space here, you’re not sleeping on that shitty excuse for furniture.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude.”

“Aedion, we’ve slept together before this. The rules haven’t suddenly changed just because we’re more than friends.”

Aedion’s grin was rueful. “If you’re referring to the time I woke with pink bows in my hair…”

One night during a movie marathon with Lysandra, Aelin, Rowan, and Elide, Aedion had fallen asleep cuddled up to Lysandra, just over halfway through  _ Aladdin. _ He woke up during the  _ Hercules _ end credits to find several pink ribbons braided into his hair and guilty looks on Lysandra and Aelin’s faces.

To their surprise, instead of being annoyed he had only laughed and said, “I kind of dig this,” before proceeding to wear the ribbons through all three of his classes the next day. Lysandra had to respect the utter lack of toxic masculinity it took to do that.

Now, Lysandra only crossed her heart and promised, “no ribbons.”

“In that case, how could I ever refuse?” Aedion toed off his shoes and slipped under the sheets, keeping a respectful distance. Lysandra appreciated the gesture, she really did, but it wasn’t necessary. She tucked herself close to him, neatly under his chin with an arm draped lightly across his waist, feeling his chest move with each breath.

She wasn’t sure if she imagined the gentle press of his lips to her forehead, but the warm weight of his arm around her body was real, solid. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Potential TW, this chapter deals with discussions of past sexual assault!

They were sitting shoulder to shoulder on the tiny fire escape balcony, feet dangling over the eight story drop, when Lysandra asked the question that had been nagging at her for weeks.

“Did the rumors ever bother you? What people said about me after the whole thing with Hamel?”

Aedion turned to look at her with a furrowed brow. “What were people saying?”

“You didn’t hear?” Lysandra scoffed, “It was the talk of the campus.”

He only shrugged in response. “I try not to put much stock in rumors. If I heard anything, I probably just dismissed it right away.”

Of course he’d be the type to ignore nasty rumors, as though he wasn’t perfect enough already. Everybody else on campus heard a convoluted version of the story and believed it without question, as though Lysandra would lie about what had happened.

“But you know what happened…

“I know there was some issue between you and an old professor, something to do with-” he stumbled over his words for a moment, “-with sexual assault allegations.”

Lysandra nodded, not meeting his eyes: noticing this, he hurriedly added, “we don’t have to talk about this if you’re not up for it.”

“No,” she sighed, “but we should probably air all this out sooner rather than later. As the story goes, I slept with professor Arobynn Hamel and when I got caught, lied about it being non consensual so I wouldn’t get in trouble. It’s earned me a less-than-desirable reputation with some people, and I don’t want to ruin you by association.”

“Being with you is worth the hate I might get from some ignorant assholes,” Aedion chuckled, adding, “that’s not the real story, is it?”

Lysandra gazed at the sidewalk below, avoiding the intensity in those turquoise eyes. “The real story is exactly what I said — he assaulted me.”

Aedion’s lips tightened into a thin line, anger flashing in his eyes for the barest moment. Lysandra knew the anger wasn’t directed at her, but it was still frightening to see.

“Who did you tell?” he finally asked. 

“I went right to the police, who took it to administration. There was an investigation and of course everyone seemed so sympathetic to me, but in the end all they did was strongly suggest he quit. Because he wasn’t arrested or actually punished, people think I’m a liar.”

She finally found it in herself to meet Aedion’s eyes again, filled with sorrow and something else a little harder-edged. “I believe you,” he stated, so matter-of-fact Lysandra was taken aback. “I know that you know this, but in case you need to hear it out loud,  _ I believe you, Lys.” _

Lysandra’s throat felt tight, instead of answering she just held her hand out for Aedion to take. They sat with their fingers interlocked, admiring the view from the balcony, for another few minutes before he spoke again.

“In the army, I knew a couple women who had been sexually harassed or assaulted. Some of them came forward and told someone about it, but it was rare if anything came out of that; most of the time the higher-ups promised retribution then ended up shoving the problem under a carpet and pretending it didn’t happen.”

She turned her gaze to Aedion, silently encouraging him to continue.

“When there’s so little divide between personal and professional life, what happens to you  _ personally _ can impact you  _ professionally. _ Many women fear being seen as weak, as less capable of doing their duty because they weren’t even able to defend themselves off the job.”

Aedion still didn’t look at her, focused on the sidewalk below as he added, “I left the military as soon as I possibly could. I didn’t agree with much of what went on, that was only a tiny aspect of it. 

“But to answer your question, no. The rumors never bothered me, what people whisper behind others’ backs doesn’t bother me. I know  _ your _ story and that’s all I need to hear.”

Blinking at the faint wavering in his voice, at the silver lining his eyes, Lysandra joked, “If anyone’s supposed to be crying right now, Aedion, it’s me.”

Her attempt at humor fell slightly flat, especially with the tears that threatened in her own eyes, but Aedion just nudged her with his shoulder and smiled. “You’re too tough for that. Now I’ve got to be the crybaby of the pair.” He pressed a kiss to her temple and stood carefully, metal creaking beneath his weight. “We should start getting ready, we promised to meet Elide and Lorcan by six o’clock.”

She heaved a sigh and pulled herself to her feet, crawling back through the fire escape window with ease. Aedion followed behind, momentarily struggling with his broad chest and shoulders, as Lysandra complained, “Lorcan doesn’t even like me.”

“Lorcan doesn’t like  _ anyone,”  _ Aedion corrected, finally tumbling through the window and landing ungracefully on the carpet. “At least not at first. But Elide’s great, and she manages to get him out of his shell.”

“Next time we’re making up an excuse to not go, though.”

“Fine. As long as  _ you  _ think up a good excuse next time I want to avoid Dorian and Manon.”

“I still don’t understand your problem with them. They’re both perfectly nice people.”

Aedion visibly shuddered. “Dorian’s alright, but Manon once threatened to gut me with a blunt pencil. I don’t think she was joking.”

Lysandra smiled wryly. “She probably wasn’t. Rock, paper, scissors for who gets the bathroom first?”

Aedion lost, muttered a few choice words that made Lysandra’s brow furrow, and headed to the bedroom instead, turning to call over his shoulder, “don’t take too long!”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ll continue to add chapters to this as I think of more little modern AU Lysaedion storylines. Each chapter can be kind of the same story, kind of its own little one-shot.
> 
> Me in Ch1: calls out military homophobia  
> Me in Ch2: calls out military sexual assault  
> Also me: An agenda? Please. I would never.
> 
> But really, not all the chapters will be very serious or deal with actual issues. It all depends what I feel like writing

**Author's Note:**

> Might add a chapter 2 of more one-shot fluff if I end up writing it but for now, this is all
> 
> Also: fuck the US military. Thanks for coming to my TED talk


End file.
